My friend, Leo Bretholz, was a young man when he risked his life to jump off a French train bound for Auschwitz. There were 1,000 people on that train, and Leo later found out that only 5 survived the Holocaust. That train was run by the French National Railroad company, SNCF, which was paid per head and per kilometer to transport Jews, American pilots who'd been shot down, and others to Nazi death camps. But unlike other companies involved in the Holocaust, SNCF never paid a cent of reparations to Holocaust survivors. Today, I write you with positive news in our decades-long fight to hold SNCF accountable for its Holocaust-era atrocities. On Monday, representatives from the U.S. and French governments signed a binding agreement that will provide a $60 million compensation fund to numerous survivors and their heirs, in recognition of the horrific Holocaust-era actions perpetrated by SNCF. While I am saddened that many who were transported on these death trains and endured these dark hours are not covered by this agreement, it will bring a measure of justice to some of SNCF’s victims, particularly those who survived the deportations. Although no settlement could ever adequately address the horrors of the Holocaust, it represents an important acknowledgment by SNCF and the French government of complicity in the atrocities of the Holocaust. This development is particularly bittersweet in that it arrives too late for Leo Bretholz, an extraordinary man and advocate for SNCF’s victims. Leo’s daring escape from an SNCF train bound for Auschwitz, and his subsequent dedication over so many decades to tell this story and to tirelessly pursue justice, is such a big part of why this agreement happened, and we owe so much to Leo. Although Leo is no longer with us, his spirit, determination and his belief that there should be accountability for the horrors of the Holocaust continue to inspire us all. As a young child born in France, I was hidden by a wonderful French farm family who chose to save the life of a Jewish child, but my father was taken away from me and put on an SNCF train under inhuman conditions and sent to Auschwitz. He was then sent to Buchenwald, where he was murdered five days before the camp was liberated. Over the past years, I and many other Holocaust survivors have been touched by the outpouring of support we have received from countless individuals who believe SNCF should be held accountable for the role it played in the deaths of more than 76,000 Jews, including my father. This development would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of the more than 165,000 supporters on Change.org; state and federal elected officials and advocates across the globe, including Bet Tzedek Legal Services, who have lent their voices to our cause; Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat and his State Department team; as well as our legal representatives, including Harriet Tamen and Stephen Rodd who began the quest for justice more than 15 years ago, and Steve Ross and Rafi Prober (and the other pro bono counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld), as well as pro bono counsel Aaron Greenfield who was so effective in our work in Maryland. For all of these efforts, I will be forever grateful. Thank you for making this moment possible. Thank you for helping us in our on-going fight for justice for Leo, my father and for all the victims whose names and memory live on through us. Thank you. Rosette Goldstein Boca Raton, Florida